Collapsible tube capping mechanism



Oct. 27, 1953 H. A. DREW 2,656,965

COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MECHANISM Filed May 29, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l inventor Harry/1. Drew Gttorneg Oct. 27, 1953 H. A. DREW COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 29. 1951 manna IN V EN TOR. Harry A. Drew "7M A TORNEY Oct. 27, 1953 Filed May 29. 195] H. A. DREW COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 BY M ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 27, 1953 COLLAPSIBLE TUBE CAPPING MECHANISM Harry A.,Drew, West New York, N. J., assignor to 1 Victor Industries Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y, a corporation of New York Application May 29, 1951, .Serial N0.228,829

19 Claims. (Cl. 226-88) This invention relates to machines for ap".

ping collapsible tubes and particularly to the means for gripping and screwing a cap on to the neck of the tube.

The invention contemplates the provision of adjustable jaws adapted to be closed upon a cap for holding the cap with the required pressure to permit the capping operation upon a rotating tube when the closed jaws and'the cap gripped thereby are advanced, while permitting the cap, if not previously released-to rotate with the tube within the jaws after it has been screwed into place, without danger of damaging the screw threads on the cap or tube neck.

The invention further contemplates the provision of yieldable and adjustable cap gripping and advancing means including an oscillating member. having a constant stroke and reciprocating members having adjustable strokes and a yieldable adjustable connection therebetween whereby the advancing and closing movements of the jaws may be readily adjusted, excess motion of the mechanismtaken up automatically and the points of beginning and ending of the opening and closing movements of the jaws as well L;

as the advancing movement thereof are controlled.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a movable and adjustable rear guide for aiding in properly positioning the cap preparatory to its advance into capping position and of acooperating movable front guide responsive to movement of the cap advancing mechanism in order to move out of the way of the cap after the cap has been gripped and is ready to be fed toward the tube, and to move into cap guiding position-in front of the capwhen said mechanism is retracted preparatory to gripping the next cap.

The invention further contemplates the provision of adjustable and dependable means adapt ed to operate upon caps and tubes of various sizes for; closing the jaws upon a cap before the cap is advanced, then advancing the gripped cap to a rotating collapsible tube on arnandrel to screw the cap on the neck ofv the tube and finally to open the jaws to release thecap, the capped tube being moved out of the way and the open jaws being retracted while a mandrel with an uncapped tube is being moved into capping position.

The various objects of the invention will be clear from the description which follows and from the drawings, in which;

Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view, partly in section, of part of the mechanism for delivering a cap and a tube into thecapping position and for 1 mounting the cap'on the tube, the section being.

taken on the line l-l of Fig; 4.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational View of the capping mechanism taken on the broken line 4-4 of i Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of the cap gripping jaws and of part of the front cap guide or shutter, as they appear with'the jaws open and r retracted to receive a cap, the racks of the jaws and the rearcap guide being omitted for clarity.

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of Fig. 5, show ing in addition, the tube in'the capping position and the adjustable rear cap guide.

Fig; 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the jaws closed on the cap preparatory to feeding the cap toward the tube, and Fig. 8. is a side elevational view of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a view similar toFig. 5 but with the the means for adjusting the advancing movement of the jaws.

In the practical embodiment of the invention shown by way of example; the tubes I5 to be capped (Fig. 1-) are mounted in any suitable manner, as by the transfer, mechanism disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 212,555, on

I the rotatable mandrels l6 carried by the turret ll. Said turret is intermittently rotated around i ,its shaft [8 by the Geneva wheel 19 operated by the Geneva cranklll on the shaft 2! through the pin 22, the shaft 2| being continuously rotated in any suitable manner; As a mandrel halts at a selected station such as that station designated A, a tube is mounted thereon, whereafter the tube is carried step by step into thecapping station designated B. As the turret is again ad,- vanced step by step to come to rest at said star tion B, the friction wheel on they mandrel shaft: comes into operative engagement with :the cons; tinuously-rotating wheel-:24 on the motor: shaft,

which is operated by the motor 26. The fricion wheel 23 on the mandrel shaft is thereby rotated, rotating the tube on the mandrel l6 during the time that the mandrel remains at the capping station B. At that station, the tube is pped by mechanism forming the primary feature of the present invention and soon to be described. The next advance of the turret carries the capped tube to a dismounting station such as the station designated C where the capped tube is dismounted and the mandrel freed for the reception of the next tube to be capped.

At the capping station suitable caps as 21 (Figs. and 6) are first fed into the capping jaws 28, 29 and are advanced axially toward the rotating tube I5 to be screwed thereon, it being understood that the cap is internally threaded and the tube neck 35] is externally threaded. The caps may be of any suitable size and shape and are illustrated herein as having an enlarged head, though it will be understood that the mechanism for delivering the cap to the capping station is adapted to handle caps varying in size and shape such as generally cylindrical caps or highly ornamented or tapered caps. The cap delivering mechanism being fully disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 239,355, it need not be here shown nor described in detail. Suffice it to say that the cap feeding chutes 3i and 32 (Fig. 1) receive the caps from a suitable hopper and feed the caps successively in the proper positions for capping, that is, with the internally threaded openings thereof facing the tube or at the front of the mechanism. The caps drop into the recesses 33 of the cap feeding wheel 34 which is intermittently rotated in synchronism with the turret H by a suitable operative mechanism interposed therebetween and not shown but of any well known type. A cover plate 35 for the recesses prevents the caps from falling out prior to reaching a point above the opening between the opened jaws 28, 29.

Said jaws are given a closing movement toward each other at the proper time to grip the cap dropping therebetween and are also given a reoiprocatory movement in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the jaws and longitudinally of the machine and toward and from the tube l5. The extent of the closing and opening movements and the point of beginning of said movements are adjustable as is the extent of the cap feeding movement of the jaws and the point of beginning of such movement. Each of the jaws is provided with a preferably V-shaped recess 36 in the inner edge thereof and with a suitable rack on the rear face thereof. The rack 31 on the jaw 28 meshes with the pinion 38 on the upright pinion shaft 39 which also carries the gear 40 meshing with the similar gear 4| on the pinion shaft 42 for the jaw 29. On the upper part of said shaft 42 is the pinion 43 meshing with the companion pinion 38 and with the rack 44 on the rear face of the jaw 29. The gear 4| is oscillated by suitable adjustable means later to be described to oscillate the pinions 38 and 43 in opposite directions and thereby alternately to open the jaws by movement away from each other and to close the jaws by movement toward each other. Normally the jaws are urged away from each other by the coil spring 49 arranged around the pinion shaft 39, one end of the spring being attached to the lower plate 59 which supports the lower ends of the pinion shafts and is suitably supported in downward spaced relation to and by the front push plate 45. T0 guide the jaws in their movements, a suitable guide bar 45 is fixed to the reciprocating front push plate 46 and is provided with the groove 41 slidably receiving the tongue 43 projecting forwardly from the lower edges of each of the jaws.

The front edge of the rear guide plate 50 which is fixed to the push plate 46 engages and guides the lower part of the rear faces of the jaws and also carries the block 5| in which is suitably mounted the adjusting screw 52 for adjusting the position of the rear cap guide 53.

Said guide 53 is slidably mounted for forward and rearward adjustment on the block 5| and is internally threaded to receive the adjusting screw 52, whereby the front faceof said guide may be properly adjusted to guide and position the rear face of the cap 2'! as the cap drops out of the feeding wheel 34. To limit the down ward movement of the cap into the jaws and also to permit the jaws to interengage andthere by to assure proper guided opening and 016s ing movement of the jaws, one jaw as 28 is provided with a pair of similar parallel and laterally spaced apart arms as 54, 55 fitted into and sliding in the respective recesses 56 and 5! in the front and rear faces respectively of the other jaw 29. Similarly, an arm 58 extending from the jaw 29 fits into and slides in a recess in the jaw 28 between the arms 54 and 55.

To prevent the cap from tilting out of its proper position as it drops between the jaws at the capping station, a front guide or shutter 88 is secured at one of its ends to the front end of the shutter shaft 8!, said shaft passing through the rear cover plate 62 for the cap feed ing wheel 34 and through the front cover plate 83 for said wheel as best seen in Figs. 3 and l. The shutter oscillates with its shaft 6| a1- ternately assuming the operative position shown in Figs. 5-8 and the inoperative position shown in Figs. 9-12 out of the way of the jaws and cap. To oscillate the shaft 6| at the proper time and thereby to carry the shutter into and out of its cap guiding position, the cam 64 is secured to said shaft and is provided with a suitable cam groove 65 in which operates the cam roller E6, the roller being freely rotatable on the upright roller shaft or pin 61 fixed to the post 68 carried by the arm 69. The outer end of said arm '69 may, if desired, slide on the upper edge of the rail 18 which is fixed to the angle supports H and 12 (Fig. 2). The inner end of the arm 69 is secured to the block 13 which is in turn fixed to the rear push plate 14 and is reciprocable therewith as a unit longitudinally of the machine. It will therefore be seen that as the plate 14 is moved forwardly, that is, toward the jaws 28, 29 by the operating mechanism therefor, which is later to be described, the cam 64 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 2, 5, 7, 9 and 11 to move the shutter 60 out of the path of the advancing jaws, and as the push plate 14 is retracted, the shutter is lowered to its operative oapguiding position in front of the jaws.

As has already been indicated, a suitable yieldable and adjustable connection is provided between the rear push plate 14 and the front push plate 46 whereby the front plate is not necessarily is taken up and considerable adjustment ofthe effective movement of the front plate and of: the jaws carried thereby becomes possible. As shown, said connection comprises the springs I (Figs. 3, 4 and 13) the rear parts of which are inserted into the holes 16 in the front edge ofthe rear plate, and the front parts of which enter the holes 11 in the rear edge of the front plate. To insure that the desired rearward movement of the front plate occurs when the rear plate is sufficiently retracted, arms as H! are secured to the rear plate and project forwardly therefrom to overhang the front plate, each arm having a longitudinal slot 19 in the forward end part there-- of receiving a pin 80 upstanding from the front plate and thereby limiting the amount of movement of one plate relatively to the other.

As shown in Fig. 13, an adjustable connection between the plates may be substituted for the arms 18, and comprises the bracket 84 revolubly and removably supporting the adjusting screw 82 in the slot 83 thereof and fastened to the plate 14, and the adjustable block 84 receiving the adjusting screw 82 and held on to the rear plate 74 by screws 85 each passing through a longitudinal slot 86 in the base 87 of the block 84. Said base is extended forwardly enough to overhang the front plate 45 a substantial amount similarly to the front parts of the arms i8, and is similarly provided with the slot 19 receiving the pin 80 upstanding from the plate 46. Obvi ously, by rotating the adjusting screw 82 in the proper direction, the springs are compressed a greater or lesser amount as desired and relative movement of the front and rear plates lessened or increased as desired.

The rear plate 74 is positively reciprocated by corresponding movement of the block is through the rod 88 which has a sliding bearing in the bearing block '13. The lever 89 is pinned at its upper end to the rod as at 30 as is oscillated in any suitable manner as by a cam, crank or the like to reciprocate the rod. The spring 9|, fixed at one end to the lever and at its other end to the frame or other fixed part of the machine, urges the upper end of the lever toward the rearward retracted position thereof, the lever being pivoted in any suitable manner between its up per and lower ends at a point (not shown) below the spring 9|. The nut 92 on a threaded part of the rod 88 is adjustable along said rod and engages the left end of the block when the rod is moved forwardly through the block, the rod and block then moving as a unit and also moving the rear push plate M to compress the springs 15 and finally to move forwardly the plate at and the jaws and other parts mounted thereon, toward the tube I5 to cap the tube.

Means are provided to insure forward and rearward movement of the rod 88 without moving the block 13 or plate M, at the final part of the forward stroke and the initial part of the rearward stroke of the rod in order to open and close the jaws before substantial forward or rearward movement of the jaws can occur. Said means comprises spring-pressed friction plugs 93 carried by the rails 18 and urged downwardly by the springs 96 into contact with the upper surface of the plate M and pressing said plate against the top edges of the lower rails 95 which slidably support the plates M and 46 and which extend between the front and rear upright angle members H and 12. The springs 94 are inserted into spaced holes in the rails and are held in adjusted position by the respective screws 95' whereby the plugs 93 exert the'required force on the plate 14 to resist longitudinal movement thereof aided by the springs 15 between the front and rear plates, until the rod 88 has first been moved longi-- tudinally in the block l3 enough to open or to close the jaws 28, 29 as the case may be.

The mechanism operatively and adjustably connecting the rod 88 to the jaws for opening and closing the jaws will now be described. Said mechanism comprises the arm so extending downwardly from the front end of the rod 88 through an opening 9'! in the plate is and se cured to the rear end of the right and left hand threaded turnbuckle 98, the other or front end of which is secured to the horizontal lever 69 underneath and pivoted at one end to the front plate 45 and at its other end pivoted to one end of the link I128. The other end of the link is.

slotted as at [0| to receive the pin Hi2 projecting downwardly from the gear ll into the slot. It will now be seen that on the forward stroke of the upper end of the lever as, the rod 528 slides forwardly in the block is until the not as strikes the rear end of the block or until jaws 28, 29 close on the cap dropping thereinto as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The push plates it and 45 however, do not move before the jaws close owing to the friction exerted upon the plate It by the friction plugs 93. As the rod 86 moves forwardly from the position shown in Figs. 3-6, the arm as and turnbuckle 93 move forwardly with it and rotate the lever 99 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. .3 and advance the link I00. Said link, acting through the pin if: rctates the gear 4| and the pinion 43- in a counterclockwise direction, thereby causing rotation of the gear 4!} and pinion 38 in the opposite direction against the action of the coil spring it. The racks 31 and 44 and the jaws 2B and 255 on which they are respectively mounted, are consequently moved toward each other to close upon and to hold. firmly but without excess pressure, the cap 21, said cap having dropped out of its recess 33 in the feed wheel 34 on to the jaw arms 54, 55 and 58 and having entered the recesses 36 as shown in Figs. '7 and 8.

On the final part of the forward stroke of the lever 89 after the jaws have been closed on the cap, the rod 88 being no longer movable relatively to the block 73 against the action of the spring 49, said rod moves the block longitudinally along with it as a unit, overcoming the resistance of the connecting springs 15 and the friction plugs 93. Such movement of the block moves the cam roller 66 in the groove of the cam 64 and also moves the rear plate 14 forwardly, said plate sliding on the lower rails and being guided thereby. When the springs 75 have been compressed sufiiciently to overcome the inertia of the front plate 46 and of the parts carried thereby, the cam roller 65 rotates the cam 64, the shutter shaft BI and the shutter 60 in a counterclock- Wise direction as viewed in Figs. 1, 2 and 7 to raise said shutter from in front of and out of the way of the jaws into the position shown in Fig. 9. When the shutter has been removed, the plate 46 and the jaws and cap thereon move forwardly therepast into the position of Fig. 10, presenting the cap [6 to the neck of the tube 15, which at the capping station B is being continuously rotated through the friction wheel 26. The jaws and recesses therein and the guide 53 and shutter 60 being so shaped and arranged as to hold the cap accurately and coaxially of the tube, advance of the cap gripped by the jaws. insures proper a screwing of the cap on the tube neck. When the capping operation has been completed, any improper excess advance of the rear plate 14 merely serves further to compress the springs 15 without advancing the cap more than it can move normally on the tube neck, such advance of the jaws being adjustable. Rotation imparted to the cap by the rotatin tube merely causes the cap to move in the recesses 35 of the jaws until the jaws open, the holding pressure on the cap being adjustable for this purpose.

At the beginning of the return or rearward movement of the lever 89 under the influence of the lever spring 9!, the rod 38 first moves rearwardly to swing the lever 99 and to rotate the gears and pinions in the proper directions to move the jaw racks 3i and it and the jaws 28 and 29 away from each other aided by the spring 49 thereby to open the jaws and to release the capped tube, which is then moved by the turret I! to the next or dismounting station C, the parts assuming the positions shown in Figs. 11 and 12. On further rearward movement of the lever 89, the collar fixed to the forward part of the rod 88 engages the block it and moves the block and its rear push plate i l rearwardly, thereby operating the shutter shaft iii to lower the shutter 6D in front of the jaws. At about the same time, the pin 88 is engaged by the end of the slot 19 to move the front plate 46 rearwardly as a unit with the rear plate into the positions initially had thereby as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, ready for the next cap to drop into place in the jaws for mounting on the next tube on the turret.

Since the mechanism is intended to operate on caps and tubes of various sizes merely by changing certain parts such as the feeding wheels and turret mandrels, the mechanism controlling the amount of the jaw opening and the point of beginning and ending of the opening and. closing strokes of the jaws as well as of advance of the jaws, is so designed that it is accurately adjustable and under complete control, as has already been indicated. For example, the turnbuckle 98 serves to adjust the maximum opening position of the jaws and the stroke of the link are as well. The amount of th opening and closing movements of the jaws as well as the pressure exerted by the closed jaws on the gripped cap are consequently controlled and adjusted by the turnbuckle, some adjustment of this type being also obtainable by changing the position of the nut 52 along the rod 88 wh reby the point of the stroke of said rod at which movement of the block 23 begins may be adjusted.

The amount of advance of the jaws toward the tube is adjusted by the adjusting screw 82 of Fig. 13 as is that point of the stroke of the rod at which advance of the jaws begins, so as to permit the correct timing of the jaw closing movement with the advancing movement especially when a change in the size of the work has been made. The rear guide 53 is adjustable to permit its front face to be aligned with the rear face of the cap as it drops into place in the jaws.

It will now be seen that mechanism has been provided to control fully the means whereby a cap is gripped and forwarded for capping a tube, and that the mechanism is effective and dependable for the purposes intended and adequately meets the requirements demanded in devices for doing the work here involved. While certain specific forms of the invention have herein been shown and described, various obvious changes may be made therein without departing from the 8 spirit of the invention defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a collapsible tube capping mechanism, a pair of jaws mounted for transverse reciprocation toward and from each other and for movement as a unit longitudinally of the mechanism, a rack on each jaw, a pair of spaced apart pinions each meshing with one of said racks, a pair of pinion shafts carrying the respective pinions, a pair of meshing gears one on each shaft, a reciprocable front plate carrying the jaws, pinions, shafts and gears, means slidably supporting the plate for movement longitudinally of the mechanism, a reciprocable jaw operating rod, an adjustable operative connection between the rod and one of the gears whereby forward longitudinal movement of the rod effects rotary movement of the gears and corresponding closing movement of the jaws, a support slidably supporting the rod, a longitudinally slidable rear plate secured to the support and slidable therewith, friction means normally resisting movement of the rear plate, a yieldable connection between the front and rear plates permitting relative movement of the plates and also permitting movement of the plates as a unit, a shutter movable into and out of position in front of the jaws, and an operative connection including a cam interposed between the shutter and the support to move the shutter on movement of the support.

2. In a collapsible tube capping mechanism, openable and clcseable cap gripping means adapted to forward a cap to a tube capping station, means for adjusting the extent of the opening and closing movement of said gripping means, means for adjusting the extent of the forwarding movement of the grippin means, a pair of lon itudinally spaced apart guides controlling the position of a cap delivered to the gripping means, the front one of said guides being a shutter movable in front of and out of the way of the gripping means, means for opening and closing the gripping means, means for advancing and retracting the gripping means, and means for moving the shutter provided with an operative connection to the advancing and retracting means and operable thereby.

3. The capping mechanism of claim 2, the means for opening and closing the gripping means comprising a pair of jaws, a front plate carrying the jaws and the rear guide, gearing carried by the front plate, and a rack on each jaw operated by the gearing, and means for oscillating the gearing.

4. The capping mechanism of claim 3, the means for advancing and retracting the gripping means comprising a rear plate, means slidably supporting the rear and front plates in coplanar relation to each other, means for advancing the rear plate after movement of the gearing by the oscillating means in a direction to close the jaws and for retracting the rear plate after movement of the gearing in a direction to open the jaws, and a yieldable connection between the plates whereby part of the movement of the rear plate is transmitted to the front plate.

5. The capping mechanism of claim 2, the means for advancing and retracting the grip ping means comprising a rear plate, a reciprocating rod, means operatively connecting the rod to the plate after a predetermined movement of the rod in each direction, and an operative yielding connection between the plate and the gripping means transmitting part of the movement 9 of the plate in each direction to the gripping means.

6. In a collapsible tube capping mechanism, a pair of cap-gripping jaws, one jaw having a recess therein and the other jaw having a pair of recesses therein, a front guide for the jaws having a guide groove therein, a tongue projecting forwardly from each jaw and entering a groove, a rear guide for the jaws, a plate supporting the guides, a pair of arms projecting from said one jaw and slidably entering the respective recesses in the other jaw additionally to guide the jaws, an arm projecting from said other jaw and slidably entering the recess in said one jaw, means for moving the jaws toward and from each other relatively to the plate to close and to open the jaws, and means for reciprocating the plate and the jaws and guides carried thereby in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the opening and closing movement of the jaws.

7. The capping mechanism of claim 6, the means for opening and closing the jaws comprising a rack on each jaw, gearing including a pinion for each rack and a pair of intermeshing gears, one gear being mounted coaxially of the pinion for one jaw and the other gear being mounted coaxially of the pinion for the other jaw, and means for oscillating one of the gears.

8. The capping mechanism of claim 7, the means for reciprocating the plate comprising a reciprocating rod, a bearing slidably supporting the rod, a rear plate carrying the bearing, a yieldable connection between the rear plate and the guide-supporting plate, and means for limiting the sliding movement of the rod in the bearing and operatively connecting the rod and bearing for movement as a unit during a selected part of the reciprocating stroke of the rod.

9. In a collapsible tube capping mechanism for capping a tube at a capping station, cap gripping means, means for opening and closing the gripping means to grip and to release a cap delivered to the gripping means, means for advancing the cap gripping means toward the capping station and for retracting the cap gripping means, means for adjusting the opening and closing means, means for adjusting the stroke of the advancing and retracting means, and a front guide shutter interposable in front. of and in the path of the cap gripping means and movable out of said path.

10. The capping mechanism of claim 9, and means responsive to the operation of the advancing and retracting means for operating the shutter.

11. The capping mechanism of claim 10, the means for opening and closing the gripping means comprising gearing and means for oscillating the gearing. I

12. In a collapsible tube capping mechanism, reciprocating cap gripping jaws, means for opening and closing the jaws, mean for advancing and retracting the jaws, a rear cap guide behind the jaws, a front cap guide or shutter movable into a position in front of the jaws and into another position out of the path of advance of the jaws, means for oscillating the front cap guide or shutter, and interengaging means on the jaws to position a cap dropped therebetween.

13. The capping mechanism of claim 12, means for guiding the jaws in the opening and closing movements thereof, and a jaw support carrying the jaws and the rear cap guide and movable therewith as a unit by the advancing and retracting means.

14. The capping mechanism of claim 13, means for adjusting the stroke of the advancing and retracting means, means for adjusting the jaw opening and closing means, and means for adjusting the rear cap guide relatively to the jaw support.

15. In a collapsible tube capping mechanism, cap gripping means, means for advancing and retracting the gripping means, guide means for the cap gripping means, a front cap guide shutter, and means for oscillating the shutter to move the shutter out of the path of the cap gripping means preparatory to the advance of said cap gripping means and to move the shutter to an operative position in front of the gripping means after retraction of the gripping means.

16. The cap gripping means of claim 15, jaw opening and closing means, and a yieldable connection between the advancing and retracting means and the jaw opening and closing means.

17. In a collapsible tube capping mechanism, a pair of cap-gripping jaws, means for supporting and guiding the jaws including a first plate, means for moving the jaws toward and from each other relatively to the plate to close and to open the jaws, and means for reciprocating the plate and the jaws in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the opening and closing movement of the jaws comprising a reciprocating rod, a bearing slidably supporting the rod, a second plate carrying the bearing, a yieldable connection between the plates, and means limiting the snaing movement of the rod in the bearing and operatively connecting the rod and bearing for movement as a unit during a selected part of the reciprocating stroke of the rod.

18. In a collapsible tube capping mechanism for capping a tube at a capping station, a pair of cap-gripping jaws, and means for opening and closing the jaws comprising a rack on each jaw, gearing including a pinion for each rack, and a pair of intermeshing gears, one gear being mounted coaxially of the pinion for one jaw and the other gear being mounted ooaxially of the pinion for the other jaw, and means for oscillating one of the gears.

19. In a collapsible tube capping mechanism for capping a tube at a capping station, cap-gripping means, means for opening and closing the gripping means to grip and to release a cap delivered to the gripping means, and means for advancing the cap-gripping means toward the capping station and for retracting the cap-gripping means, said advancing and retracting means comprising a first plate carrying the gripping means, a second plate arranged rearwardly of the first plate, a yieldable connection between the plates, and reciprocating means carried by the second plate and operatively connectable to the first plate for moving the first plate during a selected part of the reciprocating stroke of the reciprocating means.

HARRY A. DREW.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,278,038 Sharp Sept. 3, 1918 1,871,799 Koenigshofer Aug. 16, 1932 

